Welp crowned tooth is hurting again post root canal?

[Acheygirl]

Gosh I don't know what to do. Last December I had my premolar root canaled. Tooth #12. I was still in pain so we we moved to tooth #13. Both root canaled and crowned. #12 was retreated a month later just to make sure it was fixed.

Fast forward, Months later #12 began to hurt upon biting. I went to an oral surgeon to discuss extraction, Apioectomy was discussed even though scans looked normal. It was found the crown was being hit on by an opposing tooth so it was filed down and the pain diminished. The tooth is always mildly sensitive but had improved. Well I am about a year out now and it just started again. The past two weeks i noticed my bite seemed off and I was hitting heavy on the crown. Today I cannot bite on the tooth and it hurts giving me a headache. My last x-ray a few months ago was normal and it was having biting pain and a mild crown adjustment fixed it. What could be happening?

I am really now thinking I should pull it however could this be a sprained ligament? What would cause the tooth to shift out of bite and hit heavy again on the crown? It's been adjusted several times since I had it. Thank you for listening and I hope this message finds you well.

 

[Gordon]

Sounds like it needs adjusted again. People's bites do change over time, teeth aren't set into the jaws like rocks, they do move around a little bit and a very small change can have dramatic results.

 

[Acheygirl]

Dr. Gordon as always, thank you kindly for your response. I hope through Covid you are doing well.

How many adjustments can a crown withstand? Or I guess in other words, how thick is a crown to begin with? Be well and thank you.

 

[Gordon]

It varies depending on what it's made from. All gold can be as thin as 1mm, porcelain fused to metal a minimum of 1.5mm and all porcelain about the same. I doubt if the dentist is even taking a tenth of a mm off during adjustments.